Russia is kickstarting its plans to dominate the space race once again — but it will have to depend on Chinese hardware to do so

Russia is reviving its ambitions in the space race, but it will rely on Chinese equipment to achieve this goal. Currently, Chinese machinery constitutes only around 10.5% of the total equipment list for Russia's Angara rocket program, based on count. However, when considering the technological importance of each machine, Chinese suppliers form roughly 28.2% of the project's core.

Khrunichev, the primary contractor for the Angara rockets, plans to spend nearly 900 million roubles on Chinese-made equipment, representing about 84% of their entire budget. This expenditure is driven by a shortage of domestic machinery, with several Chinese manufacturers accounting for most of the spending. Although the Chinese equipment faces potential restrictions due to Western sanctions, multiple suppliers can produce near-identical machines, making it difficult to completely halt this flow of technology.

Russian experts maintain that the Angara rockets' satellites operate "in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense," despite American concerns about their potential threat to orbit and ground assets.